EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was originally published by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
CANTON – Christian Moulton caught three touchdown passes and Jake Struck accounted for 197 all-purpose yards and a score to lead Powell Olentangy Liberty (14-2) to a 28-14 win over Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller (14-2) in the Division I state championship game.
Olentangy Liberty wins its first state title in its first trip to the state championship game and completes a postseason run in which it held all six opponents to 14 points or fewer. Moeller finishes as state runner-up for the fifth time to go along with nine state titles.
Olentangy Liberty opened the scoring on its second possession and never trailed.
After the Olentangy Liberty defense stopped the Moeller offense on downs near midfield on its initial possession, Struck and quarterback Andrew Leonard quickly moved the Patriots down the field.
Two plays after the duo connected for 13 yards on third-and-5, Leonard found Struck up the seam for 25 yards to the 1-yard line. Struck scored from there on the next play.
Struck’s 24-yard punt return in the second quarter set up the Olentangy Liberty offense at the Moeller 16-yard line. After a penalty and a sack, Leonard hit Christian Moulton on a post route for a touchdown on third-and-14 from the Moeller 20. The extra point gave the Patriots a 14-0 lead with 7:24 left in the half.
The defense got Moeller on the scoreboard in the waning moments of the first half. On fourth-and-1 from the Moeller 20, Struck took a direct snap and ran into the middle of the line. The ball popped loose, Moeller’s Cooper Gearhart scooped it off the turf, and he returned it 80 yards for a touchdown with just 23 seconds remaining before halftime.
Moeller fumbled after driving into the Olentangy Liberty red zone on the opening possession of the second half, and two plays after the turnover Leonard hit Moulton in stride behind the defense for a 61-yard score.
Moeller then went three-and-out, and Olentangy Liberty covered 56 yards in seven plays, the last of which was a 14-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling Leonard to Moulton on second-and-9. The extra point gave Olentangy Liberty a 28-7 lead with 1:39 left in the third quarter.
Moeller’s offense closed the scoring early in the fourth quarter. Matt Ponatoski tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Landen Adams to cap a 10-play, 62-yard drive that included a pair of third-down conversions. Olentangy Liberty took possession with 7:36 remaining after the kickoff and never relinquished the football.
Leonard completed 17-of-23 aerials for 272 yards and three touchdowns for Olentangy Liberty. Moulton caught eight passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns, while Struck ran 17 times for 99 yards and a score, caught four passes for 74 yards and had the 24-yard punt return that set up his team’s second touchdown.
Ponatuski completed 16-of-30 passes for 112 yards for Moeller. Seven different players caught a pass, led by Jovan Love’s four catches for 31 yards.
